


You Never Know

by HeithChief



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, Canon Compliant, Love Confessions, M/M, Party, Slow Dancing, main pairing shance, secondary heith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 22:59:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13691631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeithChief/pseuds/HeithChief
Summary: With the Voltron coalition recently being formed, Allura decides to plan a formal ball to celebrate and also to promote peace within their alliances. This of course brings about a trip to their favorite space mall to purchase formal wear. Everyone is excited but Lance, but why? What would make him so upset about what to wear? This should be his favorite part. There's something else going on, but he refuses to let any of the other paladins know. This ball was supposed to be his chance to finally ask a certain paladin to dance, but not if his outfit stresses ruin everything.





	You Never Know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [after_midnightmunchies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/after_midnightmunchies/gifts).



> This is part of the Shance Support Squad Discord Valentines Exchange event. I loved your idea of a canon compliant ball to promote the coalition and I just ran with the idea. I had so much fun writing this and I'm pretty proud of it. I hope you like it!

That morning, Allura had announced a ball to promote the Voltron coalition and to foster peace among them. This ball was going to be hosted by one of the planets in their alliance. They had been there once before, it was the one that Lance couldn’t remember the name of, but it was where Pidge had learned the plant powers of her Lion. Also, where they got that one cube that got annoying with the many times Coran made it repeat things.

               Preparations were being made on how to conduct themselves as this ball. Of course, it was celebration of their Voltron coalition, so it was a party, but also it was supposed to be a diplomatic evening. They needed to build relationships with the people, to help gain their trust. People fought better for, and with, those that they trusted. Everyone was excited about getting a night off from their strict fighting and training schedule. Lance swore he even saw Keith getting excited about this.

              Which was weird, because Lance was certain a ball would be the complete opposite of what Keith would find enjoyable. Then again, it was hard to get a read on Keith, but one thing was for sure, there was a small smile on Keith’s face when Allura went over the details of the gala. Lance, of course, was excited too. There were plenty of girls to dance with and maybe he’d even get the courage to ask a certain someone on the Voltron team to dance. Just maybe, though. He’d have to see how that worked out for him. So overall, he was thrilled, well, until the topic of outfits came up.

              For guys, there were suits, similar to the ones back on Earth, but they were usually more ornate and decorated, according to the photos Allura had shown them. Or there were versions of long tunics with pants underneath them. Apparently, her father had held one of these types of balls before back in the day when the first paladin team had been formed. Allura was excited as she showed them the photos, happy to be able to continue the tradition.

              For girls of course, there was all sorts of formal dresses of all cuts and colors. From cute, short ones, to long flowing gowns. Lance had always been envious of that attire, it was so flowing, so free, and so elegant. He dreamt of looking like that as Allura flipped through the pictures. She got a little carried away with talking about the idea of getting Pidge in a dress like these.

              “It will be so fun to have another girl here to pick out dresses with! Pidge, I can’t wait to see you in one of these!” She gushed, but Pidge looked less than thrilled.

              Lance was a bit jealous that Pidge seemed like she got the choice to wear one of those beautiful gowns. He had just never felt right, whenever he was forced to wear suits for parties. They were so stiff and uncomfortable and for once, he wanted to look beautiful as he felt looking at those dresses. Of course, he could never say this out loud. Boys weren’t supposed to want to wear dresses. So, he kept his mouth shut and just waited as they traveled to the space mall. That Lance was excited about, he couldn’t wait to go back to the mall. It was almost like being back on Earth, when he’d take dates or hang out with friends there. They also had so much fun last time. He recalled raiding the fountain for change with Pidge, and even bringing back a cow, with a fond smile on his face.

              When Allura stopped her presentation, they broke up into pairs and Lance caught a conversation that Keith was having with Shiro.

              “Do you think this is like a prom or something on Earth?” Keith asked, trying to conceptualize it in his mind.

              Shiro smirked and nodded. He seemed to know something that Lance and did not. Then again, when it came to Keith, Shiro was always like that. Reading each other in a way no one else could. Keith was lucky he had someone to understand him in such a way. “A little bit like that, or like the formal we have at the Garrison every year.”

              “Do we need dates for this?”

              Lance’s eyebrows shot up so high on his face, they nearly disappeared into his hairline. Keith was asking about dates? Lance had never pictured Keith taking romantic in anyone, but clearly, he might have. Either that, or maybe Keith just really didn’t understand how these events worked. Lance a little bit hoped the former was true. It would be funny to see Keith trying to be romantic with someone else. Then a thought dawned on Lance that made his heart sink a little bit. He remembered hearing a rumor back at the Garrison that Keith was gay. The one person Keith had always been close was Shiro, so what if Keith liked Shiro? Maybe that was why Keith had asked Shiro this question. Maybe Keith was trying to see if Shiro would go with him, romantically. Lance swallowed and tried to ignore the jealousy that burned inside him, reminding him of the taste of bile.

              Shiro pressed his lips together and his eyes flicked over Hunk for a moment and then back to Keith. “Allura didn’t make it seem like you _have to,_ but if there’s a certain _someone_ you wanted to ask, I’m sure that’d be fine.”

              Keith followed Shiro’s line over to Hunk and quickly looked back at Shiro blushing, furiously. “Shiro! It’s not like that. I was just making sure. I’ve never been to one of these before. I got kicked from the Garrison before the formal could happen.”

              Lance pressed his lips together to stifle the surprised gasp that would have escaped his lips and given away that he was eavesdropping. Hunk…Keith liked…Hunk! They had just made that pretty obvious, but luckily for them, Hunk had been oblivious of the whole exchange. That was great! If he could set things up between Hunk and Keith, then at least he wouldn’t have to worry about Keith and Shiro. Apparently, that wasn’t the problem, but it still gave Lance a little peace of mind. He walked over to Hunk and Pidge and draped an arm over Hunk’s shoulder.

              “Yo, buddy, I was just thinking with this ball, you’ll be able to see Shay again, won’t that be exciting?” He wasn’t purposefully trying to make Keith jealous or anything, he just needed to try and gauge Hunk’s reaction.

              He had never been sure about Hunk’s sexuality. Fo all he knew Hunk could be bi or demi or whatever, he just hoped that there was a part of Hunk that a least liked boys. And specifically, Keith. It was a bit of an odd match at face value, but when Lance thought about it, maybe Keith needed someone like Hunk. Someone who was calm and was a voice of reason to combat Keith’s little problem of letting his emotions control his decision making.

              Hunk smiled a little and shrugged Lance’s arm off. “Yeah, it will be nice to see her again.”

              “Yeah? Maybe you could ask her to dance?” Lance prompted, and Pidge rolled her eyes, completely checking out of conversation.

              “I could, as a thank you for everything she did to help us.”

              “No, that’s not what I was implying, you could—”

              Hunk held up his hand and cut Lance off before he could get going. “I know where you were going. I don’t see Shay like that. She’s a friend.”

              “Oh?” Lance wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “is there someone else you like? Someone in this castle perhaps?”

              A light pink blush dusted over the tops of Hunk’s cheekbones and he grabbed Lance’s collar, pulling him close. “Not so loud, Lance!” Hunk hissed, keeping his voice down. “How did you find out about that?”

              “Wait, who is it?” Lance asked excitedly and pried Hunk’s hands off his jacket.

              Hunk’s eyes shifted across the room and Lance followed them over Keith and Shiro. He hoped that Hunk was insinuating Keith with that look and not Shiro. That would be quite the triangle. “Shiro?” Lance asked uneasily, hoping that it was wrong. Then again, he wouldn’t blame Hunk, Shiro was a guy to be admired.

              Hunk looked at him like was insane. “What? No.”

              “…wait…Keith? Seriously?”

              “Shhhh! Come on Lance, don’t make a big deal out of this. You wouldn’t like it if I told Shiro about how you feel.”

              “How did you know?”

              Hunk smirked a little, “You’ve been crazy about him since our Garrison days. I think before you even realized you were bi.”

              “You two and your crushes. Just go ask them already.” Pidge rolled her eyes, laughing a little at them.

              “Pidge, you have no say in this!” Lance hissed at her and she held her hands up in a ‘just saying’ kind of way. Lance shook his head and turned his focus back to Hunk. “Seriously though, Keith?”

              Hunk shrugged. “Yeah, but he doesn’t see me that way. I doubt he even knew I existed back then. Keith was so focused and cool. He’s a gifted flyer without even trying, but he’s also so pretty. Have you seen those eyes of his?”

              “Ugh. I’m officially checking out of this conversation.” Lance stood up and walked away, but he was smiling. Even if was gross, it was kind of cute that they liked each other. He’d have to come up with a plan to get them together at some point during the night if they didn’t manage to do it their own. Maybe he’d rope Shiro into to it somehow and it’d be a way for them bond or something. Either way, he didn’t have time to think about that now. They had just gotten to the space mall and Lance needed to worry about what kind of outfit he was going to get. _Greaaaaat…_

              Lance followed Coran and the other boys off to the men’s formal clothing section while Allura, pulled a very reluctant Pidge to a store across the way. Coran was very excited and adamant about showing the boys what kind of clothing would be appropriate, but Lance just couldn’t get into it. He sighed and looked longing across the way to where Pidge and Allura were. He really wished he were in Pidge’s place right now. Of course, he still wouldn’t say anything, but he felt it so strongly inside, that his mood was quickly turning sour.

              He refused every item that Coran or Hunk offered to him, even if they did a good job finding things in his favorite color. They just didn’t feel right, they didn’t suit him. Finally, the others went off to try on outfits and Lance snuck out of the store to get some air. With another longing gaze at the store across the way and he saw Pidge sneaking out of the store. He smirked and walked over to her. “Having fun?”

              Pidge jumped, but relaxed when she saw it was just Lance, not Allura trying to fit her in the fluffiest, most poufy, green dress possible.  Pidge slid down against the wall and Lance joined her. They could at least commiserate on their outfit woes. When Lance wanted to be, he was actually easy to talk to and very encouraging. So Pidge sighed and decided just to be honest. “Allura wants me to be all girly and stuff, but that’s just not me. I hate dresses. They make me feel so wrong, uncomfortable, and out of place.” She looked at him, picking up on his sullen mood as well. “What’s up with you?”

              Lance sighed and decided to just tell her too. Maybe Pidge would be the one to understand. “I hate suits…I guess I’m jealous of you. You get to wear guy clothes or dresses if you wanted to.”

              “You want to wear a dress tonight, don’t you?” She asked, gently for a change, deciding to not make fun of him.

              Lance looked down at his hands and nodded, feeling the tips of his ears reddening.

              “Then why don’t we go together? I’ll wear a suit and you can wear a dress. It’ll be like a clothing swap. We can play it off like a joke if anyone tries to make fun of us.”

              “On some planets it’s actually customary for the men to wear gowns. You wouldn’t be the only one.” They both looked up and saw Allura standing above them with a smile on her face. Pidge’s eyes grew wide and she hid behind a Lance a little bit. She’d been caught. “You could have just told me, you didn’t want to wear a dress, Pidge. We can find you a suit or something if you prefer. You too Lance! Let me help you pick out the prefect dress. A blue one of course, we want to match you all to your lions. Plus, that color looks good with your skin tone and you eyes. Pidge, go tell Coran that you’d prefer men’s formalwear, he’ll understand and will take care of you.” Allura called over her shoulder as she grabbed Lance’s hand and pulled him into the store.

              Pidge have Lance a look that read, ‘good luck’ and walked across the way to men’s store. “Thank you Allura.” Sometimes, Pidge forgot how understanding and compassionate Allura could be. With everything going on with Voltron lately, they usually only saw her as a strong leader.

              Lance couldn’t help but be a little excited, okay he was very excited for this, and didn’t mind following after Allura. She pulled all kinds of dresses in various shades of blue, from aqua to navy. Some poufy, some long and flowing, and even a few ones with beaded bodices. Lance was sure, this isn’t what Allura had in mind when it to today, but she adapted easily.

              “Oh! This one will look good with your long legs.” She pulled another and laid it on top of the growing pile in his arms. “Ooo! This one’s neck line will look good on you!”

              Lance just smiled and let her pick out options for him. He couldn’t help but catch her enthusiasm. She pulled at least ten different styles for him to try on and then hurried him off to the dressing rooms, waiting for him outside. He pulled one of the dark blue ball gown types. This one had a lot of sparkle on the bodice and Lance loved how the silk lining felt against his skin as he pulled it on. He did his best to zip up the back and stepped out for Allura’s opinion.

              She tilted her head and looked at him with a bit of a critical eye. Lance wondered a little if this would change her opinion of him. Then again, he wasn’t really trying to get her to like him in that way anymore. Now he flirted with her to see if it would make Shiro jealous. That and her reactions were always funny. “What do you think?” He asked nervously after a couple of seconds of silence had passed between them.

              “This isn’t the one. I don’t think that style suits you. Do you like it?”

              Lance looked at himself in the full-length mirror behind her and took his full appearance. “It’s pretty, but no…it doesn’t feel like me.”

              “True, I’m going to take out the other ball gowns.” She brushed past him and took out the other ball gowns from the dressing room. Then she handed him a dress with a mermaid silhouette before letting him change again. Again, it was pretty, but Lance didn’t feel quite right about it. His legs felt weirdly constricted like they would in a suit and he hated it.

              He stepped out anyway to get Allura’s opinion and she immediately shook her head. “No. Definitely not that one.”

              “Yeah, it’s too restrictive at the bottom. I hate it.” Lanced turned right back around and looked over the rest of his options. He needed to pick the one that fit him best personality wise as well as fit wise. He brushed his fingers through the rest of the options, but there was not one here that felt right. He stepped out of the dressing room in his regular clothes and sighed.

              Allura tilted her head to the side and looked at him with concern painted onto her face. “What’s wrong? Isn't this what you wanted?”

              “None of those dresses feel like me.”

              “Maybe because I got overexcited and picked them out for you. Why don’t you go look for yourself and I’ll just come with you?” Allura smiled, reaching over to rub Lance’s arm in an encouraging way.

              “Yeah, I think you’re right. I do appreciate all the help though.” Lance walked back out onto the main floor of store and slowly looked at every blue dress in the store. At first, he wasn’t having much luck and then toward the back of the section he finally saw it. The bodice had a high, halter neckline that would lay flat against his chest, and show of his shoulders—also hiding the fact that he didn’t have boobs—but that wasn’t what caught his attention. It was the color and the look of the bottom of the dress. The skirt was made with two different colors of silk organza and tulle overlays that were draped in a way that reminded Lance of ocean waves.  The blends of sky blues and darker, more royal blues, reminded him of his lion, Blue, as well. It was stunning, and he just hoped it would look that way on him.

              Allura found him and gasped when she saw the dress he was looking at. “Lance, that’s perfect, isn’t it? Very you.” She grabbed it and led him back to the dressing room before Lance could hesitate and worry that the dress wouldn’t look any good on him. “You never know until you try it on.”

              Lance took a deep breath and slipped the dress on, loving how it glided over his body like water. He zipped most of it and stepped out of the dressing room so Allura could finish zipping it for him. He turned around and caught sight of himself in the mirror, letting out an audible gasp. He felt both like a Greek goddess and every girl he had jealous of in high school. It was good feeling. He liked knowing he was a boy, but also the power that came with being able to dress in feminine ways too.

              “Lance…you look so beautiful. Shiro will love it.”

              Lance immediately blanched and looked at her in horror. “What? How did you know?”

              “At first, I think your flirts with me were serious, but after some time I felt them become less so. Almost like your interest was elsewhere. Then I started to notice it little by little how you looked with Shiro praised you or gave you any attention at all. It’s sweet.” She smiled at him fondly, glad that they were finally talking about this.

              “I came to respect that you weren’t just pretty, but a strong leader as well. And yeah, I’ve always idolized Shiro when we were in school together, but getting to be around him, I started to actually develop feelings for him.” Lance said, shyly, and was surprised how good it felt to get everything out in the open. “I don’t think he sees me that way, but I think it’ll be okay either way. I mean I’ll be sad, but I know here the team comes first.”

              “I think he might surprise you.” She looked at him with a knowing look on her face.

              “What do you know?”

              “Nothing, really, but I’m just saying you never know. When teams work this closely together feelings are bound to develop one way or another.” Allura smirked a little, leaning close to him. “I mean have you seen the looks Hunk and Keith have been giving each other all day?”

              “I know! I found out today that they both like each other, but neither will do anything about it.” Lance laughed a little, he loved this playful side of hers.

              “Hm. Well maybe we can play a little matchmaker tonight in more ways than one.”

* * *

 

              After the mall, they traveled the planet of the Olkari people and got ready for the ball along the way. Allura and Coran went out first, to greet their guests and start making more connections with them. They other paladins were soon to follow, except for Lance and Pidge. Both of them were holed up in Lance’s room as Lance tried to convince himself to get out there. He looked into the mirror for the millionth time, adjusting his hair so it lay nice enough and played with the layers of the skirt.

              “Lance, you look really nice in the dress. I promise you it doesn’t look stupid. You pull it off so well, I bet the trend of men wearing dresses as formal attire, might catch on back home.” Pidge assured him again, this wasn’t her strong suit, but she agreed to help Lance tonight. Also, it was because of him that she didn’t have to be so uncomfortable in a dress all evening.

              “Are you sure? I bet Keith will laugh at me.”

              “If he does, he’ll have to answer to me and to Allura. You know how supportive she was of us. Allura and I could definitely take him if we needed to.”

              Lance took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right, we can’t stay in here forever.” He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to calm his anxieties before stepping out of the room. They both walked out of the castle together and were both blown away by the walk to the main party. The trees were all strung with soft yellow fairy lights and ribbons in black, red, blue, yellow and green. It was so artfully done and beautiful. After a short walk, they were lead to a clearing where tables with food were set up and there was a dance floor in the center. Soft music played in the background and the soft lights made Lance think the whole forest was light by fireflies. It felt like being home in the summer. Like the camping trip his family took every year and it made him feel like crying a bit from nostalgia. But there wasn’t time for that.

              Several pairs of eyes turned their way, including, Hunk, Keith, and Shiro. Lance waited for the other Voltron boys to laugh at him, but it never came. He, for a moment, felt like the girl at the end of one of those cheesy teen movies he used to watch with his mother. The girl was nerdy and unnoticed by anyone at first, then she gets this big makeover, and suddenly everyone realizes she was pretty all along. That’s what getting stared at felt like, but what if it wasn’t because he was pretty, but because he looked strange?

              “Lance is wearing a dress. That I would have never seen coming. No wonder we didn’t see the outfit he bought at the space mall.” Keith murmured to Shiro, watching his reaction out of the corner of his eye. Shiro opened his mouth, his brows furrowing a bit in annoyance, but Keith spoke, reading the expression before Shiro could say anything. “It kind of suits him, doesn’t it? I, a little bit, hate how well he pulls it off.”

              Shiro nodded and was still speechless.

              “Stare a little harder, why don’t you?” Keith snorted, “go ask him to dance.”

              “Only if you ask Hunk.” Shiro smiled a little, finally finding his voice. He wanted to help Keith out too.

              “Fine. Only because I know you’ll be complaining all night if you do nothing about it.” Keith crossed the room to where Hunk was now surveying the food situation.

              “Oh, hey Keith. Lance in a dress, huh? Big news and yet he’s not the only guy here wearing one.” Hunk looked over at him and smiled wryly.

              “Yeah and it looks stupidly good on him.”

              “It does, right?” Hunk grinned, remembering how they first bonded a little at the party with the Arusians. Maybe this party would be another chance for them to get even closer.

              “I don’t really know how this works or how to be subtle about this, but do you want to dance?” Keith abruptly changed the subject and nodded toward the dancefloor where a few others were engaged in slow dances.

              Hunk immediately brightened, his smile shining brighter than any of the lights, and nodded. “Yes, I’d love to.” He took his hand and started leading Keith in a slow, easy waltz.

              Keith looked up at him, thoroughly impressed by Hunk’s dancing skills. “I didn’t know you knew how to dance.”

              “My mom taught me when I was little.”

              “Well, she did a good job.” Keith smiled a little and Hunk returned the shy smile.

              Shiro watched the two of them dancing and talk from for a moment before he realized, now he’d have to keep us his side of the deal. He took a deep breath and fiddled with his tie as he walked over to where Lance and Pidge were talking. He stopped in front of Lance and took a deep breath. Pidge saw the look in Shiro’s eyes and smiled, that was her cue to leave. She patted Lance on the shoulder and walked off to get some food.

               “Lance…wow you look…”

              Lance bit his lip and looked down, suddenly very self-conscious again. “It’s weird, isn’t it? I just don’t feel comfortable in suits and I’ve always wanted wear a dress like this.”

              “No, no, it’s not weird at all. I was just going to say you look stunning. I mean it. Really beautiful.”

              Lance looked up and saw affection swimming in Shiro’s stormy gray eyes. It blew him away a little bit, but there was no denying it was there. Shiro really did see him as beautiful. “Thank you. I’m glad you think so. I was afraid you and Keith were making fun of me over there.”

              “No!” Shiro said hurriedly, “I would never, and Keith actually said it suited you. We accept you, Lance, we’re a team and that’s what we do. We did the same thing when Pidge came out as girl and we’ll do the same if this how you choose dress.”

              Lance pressed his lips together trying to stop himself from tearing up. This had gone way better than he expected. Also, he didn’t want to ruin the little bit of makeup Allura had put on his face. He guessed the space makeup was similar to mascara and highlighter back on Earth. He felt actually beautiful, like he wished for, in that moment. Happiness was bubbling up so fiercely inside, he was worried he’d overflow. The best thing was that Shiro saw him that way too. Allura must have known more than she let on when she said, ‘you never know’. “Thank you Shiro, that means so much to me.”

              Shiro held out his hand to Lance, “Do you want to dance?”

              “Yes!” Lance slipped his hand into Shiro’s open palm and let Shiro lead him onto the dance floor. Shiro led them, matching pace with the music effortlessly. “I didn’t know you danced so well.”

              “Of course, they taught all of officers at the Garrison, so we wouldn’t make fools of ourselves at the annual gala. And I know for sure that your mother would have taught you to dance.”

              Lance smirked a little bit, “Yes, if we get a song with a little more spice to it, I’ll have to lead you in a salsa dance. I don’t care that you’re taller than me.”

              “I look forward to it.” Shiro smiled and a comfortable silence fell between them as they just focused on their bodies moving with the music.

              Of course, with silence, Lance started overthinking everything. What did this mean? Did Shiro just find him physically attractive tonight because of how well he cleaned up? Or did Shiro have real feeling for him? He couldn’t do this if Shiro didn’t feel the same, it would hurt too much. “Shiro, I have to tell you something. Over all this time we’ve spent together on Team Voltron, I’ve started to fall for you. I like you Shiro. A lot.” He looked up at Shiro’s face, nervously, and gasped a little as smile spread across Shiro’s face.

              “I feel the same. I found out you're more than the Garrison goofball. I always thought Keith would lead Voltron if I ever couldn’t, but I see that potential in you too. You have moments when you’re so serious and can think about what’s best for the team Also, I’ve seen you be so encouraging to others on team. A good leader knows when to build others up. Seeing those things also made me fall for you. I like that you’re silly, but you have these other sides to you as well.”

              “Shiro…I…” Shiro had just easily accepted his confession and Lance now it was Lance’s turn to be speechless. After all this time, all this pining, he didn’t have to hide his feelings inside anymore. It felt so good and he was so happy he felt like screaming. But that wouldn’t be quite appropriate right now, so he did the next best thing.  Taking a deep breath, he just stood on his tip toes and kissed Shiro. Lance’s actions definitely surprised Shiro, but it only took him a moment to recover and return the kiss. It was soft and sweet, both just focusing on exploring the other’s lips this new way. Lance had been so worried about the tonight, but like Allura had predicted, it turned out way better then he could have ever imagined.


End file.
